


Story Behind The Story

by wrotemywayout



Series: Modern College Newsies AU [6]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Breaking Up & Making Up, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jealousy, M/M, Misunderstandings, but not really, davey needs to communicate, jack too, they don’t Actually break up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-25 03:12:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14967896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrotemywayout/pseuds/wrotemywayout
Summary: “David, this is my girlfriend, Katherine.”It was her.It was Jack’s Katherine. Davey’s head was spinning.-Davey Jacobs isn’t the jealous type, he just doesn’t like the relationship Jack has with his ex. Turns out the ex had a Jacobs for herself.





	Story Behind The Story

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a long time in the making but I wanted to kinda establish the au before I went for it. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint

Every stage of his relationship with Jack was Davey’s favorite. The exciting and anxiety-ridden first dates, always leaving Davey with a foolish grin and blushing cheeks. A month later when their relationship became regular, meeting for study dates or napping on the common room couches. The stage where he officially became a part of Jack’s friend group. And now, three months in and falling in love. He and Jack knew each other as if they’d known each other their entire lives. Their days were beginning to become predictable but still exciting, a domestic yet new relationship. 

And that’s where we leave him; Davey was walking to Jack’s dorm, Jack’s coffee and his tea in hand. Davey was meeting Jack to walk him to the art building and keep him company as he worked on an assignment. 

The door opened soon after he knocked, and Davey was greeted by Crutchie and his wide smile. 

“Hey, Davey! Come on in.” Crutchie moved aside so Davey could step into the dorm. 

“Hey, Crutch. I didn’t know you’d be here, I would have brought you something from the coffee shop,” Davey said, gesturing to the drinks in his hand. 

Crutchie waved Davey off, implying that he shouldn’t worry about it. Davey’s attention was brought to Jack, who was sitting on his bed with his headphones in, on a Facetime call. 

“Sorry, Kath. I gotta go. Talk to you as soon as I can,” Jack hung up the phone with a wave. “You brought coffee! I knew I picked a good boyfriend.” Jack stood up and walked the short distance to Davey, leaning over to place a quick kiss on his cheek and take his coffee. 

“Who were you walking to?” Davey asked. 

“Just an old friend, that’s all. See ya, Crutch.” Jack picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder before leading Davey out of the dorm. 

Davey couldn’t help but feel that it was a bit odd that Jack wouldn’t tell him about his call, as he usually opts to gush about his friends at any possible moment. Still, he knew that he had nothing to worry about. 

-

Davey was worrying. 

Jack was on his phone any given second talking to this girl, Katherine. Whenever Davey asked about her, he got the same answers. 

“She’s an old friend, Dave.”  
“I went to high school with her.”  
“She’s my best friend who doesn’t go here, of course I’m gonna text her a lot.” 

Whenever he wasn’t texting her he was on FaceTime with her, whenever he got a message from her his eyes lit up. Davey hated that he wasn’t the reason behind his grin when his phone rang. 

 

Jack and Davey were currently walking back to campus from their weekly lunch date, Davey’s arm around Jack’s waist and Jack’s hand on his phone. Davey looked down at Jack’s phone as he received a SnapChat notification. 

“That from Katherine?” Davey asked, attempting to ask his jealousy. 

“Yeah,” Jack opened the app and viewed the Snap, Davey watching as he did so. 

“She’s pretty,” Davey said. And she was, the photo Jack received showcased and beautiful girl, dark red hair curled and pinned up, a stunning burgundy lip color and the most gorgeous eyes and perfect smile. Davey was very much gay but knew an attractive woman when he saw one. 

“Ain’t she?” Jack angled the phone toward Davey. “She looks great tonight, she must be going out.” 

“If not it’d be a waste, she looks too good to stay in,” said Davey, trying to make conversation and possibly gain information on Jack’s mystery girl. 

“It’s a good thing we went out tonight, then. It’d be a waste for the world not to see how cute your ass looks in those jeans.” Jack slid his phone back into his pocket and leaned further into Davey. Davey could feel all his jealousy melt away. 

They stayed like that, close to each other and quietly chatting in a soft voice that was reserved only for them to share. 

They came to Jack’s building first, Davey denying Jack’s pleas to spend the night as he had an exam tomorrow. With a sweet kiss goodnight Davey was left walking to his building by himself, missing the weight of his boyfriend on his side. 

Unable to erase Katherine from his mind he did what he always did when he needed help and called Sarah. 

“Hey, David. What’s up?” She asked after a few rings. 

“I’ve got a problem, do you have time?” Davey said, grateful to hear his sister’s voice. 

“Actually, I have a date tonight. Is it urgent?” Sarah sounded equally guilty and excited. 

“No, you go ahead. I can fend for myself.” Davey was disappointed that he couldn’t talk out his worries with his sister but he couldn’t impede on her date. 

“Sorry, I promise I’ll call you back as soon as I get an extra minute. Maybe Jack can help you?”

“Yeah,” said Davey halfheartedly. “Maybe. Goodnight, Sarah. Good luck on your date.”

-

After an embarrassingly long amount of time sitting on his bed trying to go to sleep Davey decided to go on a walk to clear his head. He made it about four minutes before he ran into Spot and Race. 

“Davey! Where’s your boy?” Race nearly yelled. 

“He’s in his room, are you drunk?” 

“Yeah, he is,” said Spot. “He went to some party with a bunch of his nerd friends. I’m just here to try to get him home without being arrested.” 

“Got it,” Davey laughed. “Oh, while you’re here, I have a question.” 

“Yeah, what’s up?” Spot was now all but carrying Race, who was trying to drunkenly stumble away. 

“Do you guys know a Katherine? She went to high school with you guys?” 

“Yeah, Katherine Plumber. Why do you ask?” 

“Well, Jack’s been talking to her like a lot and he’s been really secretive and I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” Davey explained, relieved that Jack’s story checks out. 

“Shit, Dave,” Race started, shaking his head and grinning. 

“What? What’s wrong with that?” Davey became increasingly worried. 

“Nothing,” Spot said quickly. “Racetrack, tell Davey that nothing’s wrong with Katherine. 

“No, no. Nothing’s wrong with her, promise. She’s fine.” Race laughed. “Like really fine, just ask Jack.” 

“What the fuck does that mean? Spot, what’s he talking about?” 

Spot opened his mouth to explain when Race cut him off. 

“It means,” Race stage-whispered, looking around to see if anyone was nearby. “It means that Jack’s cheating on you with his ex-girlfriend,” Race said before bursting into a fit of giggles. 

Red flags were being raised left and right in Davey’s mind. The girl who Davey was unreasonably jealous of is his boyfriend’s ex. Seems pretty reasonable now. 

“You’re kidding me? They dated?” 

“Yeah,” Spot said apologetically. “For a while.” 

“How long? Was it serious?” Davey’s anger replaced itself with dread. 

Spot winced. “Like three years? It was serious, nobody ever expected them to break up. I knew they were still friends but I didn’t know they were that close. I’m really sorry to be the one telling you.” 

“Spotty, can we go now? I’m hungry?” Race pulled on Spot’s arm to attempt to drag him away. 

“I’ve got boyfriend duty to attend to. We can talk tomorrow if you want, sorry.” Spot allowed Race to drag him away. “What the fuck was that?” Davey could hear Spot whisper-yell at Race. 

That was enough, Davey knew he had to confront Jack. He wasn’t typically the jealous type but this was too far. He couldn’t know that his boyfriend’s been spending more time digitally with his ex-girlfriend than the rest of his friends combined. He had to know the truth, no matter how much it hurt. 

He marched himself to Jack’s dorm and raised his hand to knock when he heard Jack’s voice through the door. 

“No, Kath, you look gorgeous. Crutch, tell Kath she looks gorgeous.” Davey could practically hear the smile on Jack’s face. 

“You two really are the same cute couple as you were two years ago, huh?” Davey heard Crutchie's voice. “You look great, Plumber.” 

That was the last straw. Davey had to leave. He no longer had the strength or motivation to confront him, not while he was talking to her, being that cute couple they always were. 

He took off down the hallway, feeling tears come to his eyes. 

He didn’t want to cry, he was better than his. He thought Jack was better than this. You think you know a person…

He made it to his building in record time, not wanting to run into anyone again. Not wanting to talk to anyone again. 

The first thing he did when we got inside was get into the bathroom. He didn’t want to go back to the room and have Darcy see him like this and try to talk about it. He had to look somewhat presentable before he could go to bed, where he would hopefully stay for the next decade or so. 

He shut himself into a stall and then the tears really came. Jack was cheating on him. Jack was just using him because Katherine was too far away. He was the substitute for a physical relationship even though he was still with Katherine. Why else would he be so secretive? Jack didn’t love him, Jack manipulated him. God, how he wanted to hate him. 

He attempted to wipe his tears with the cheap toilet paper before he decided that fuck it, he wanted to talk to Darcy anyway. Needed to talk to anyone. He made his way to his room. 

“Hey, David. How was your da-what the fuck did he do to you?” Darcy moved his laptop off his crossed legs and stood up from his bed. 

“He’s cheating on me with his ex from high school.” Davey opened his arms for a hug, craving comfort. 

“Oh, Dave. I’m sorry.” Darcy embraced him. 

“I thought he loved me.” Davey said into Darcy’s shoulder. 

“He doesn’t deserve you.”

Davey collapsed onto his bed. “I never want to talk to him again.” 

“You don’t have to” 

“I just want to sleep.” 

“Okay,” said Darcy. “Do you have any classes tomorrow?”

“Only at 3.” 

“Sleep till then. You’ll get past this.” 

-

Davey didn’t think he was ever getting past this. He woke up at noon and ignored Jack’s good morning text. When Sarah returned his call he declined it, and didn’t respond to her questioning text that followed. He moved his seat in his lecture that day as a way to distance himself from Race and Spot, who he had no interest in talking to at the moment. 

He wanted to be past this, but it passed him. 

That night, Jack stopped by to see if Davey was alright as he hadn’t heard from him all day. Davey refused to come to the door and had Darcy send him away, saying that he didn’t know where Davey was. 

He jumped when he heard his phone chime with Jack’s text tone. 

Jackie <3: what’s up with you? are you okay  
Jackie <3: Dave, I’m worried.  
Jack: please answer me. 

Davey turned his phone off and buried deeper into his blankets, despite not being cold. He felt empty, partially because such a large part of him has left, left with it’s high school sweetheart, and partially because he hasn’t eaten all day. He didn’t want to. 

The next morning, Saturday, he turned his phone back on. 

He ignored all the texts from Jack and his friends, ignored their concern. They didn’t really care anyway. He went straight for Sarah’s contact. 

David: He cheated.  
Incoming video call from Sarah Jacobs 

“He did fucking what?” Sarah yelled as soon as Davey answered the phone. 

“He cheated on me. With his high school girlfriend. He was using me while they’re separated at school. I should’ve known. He was too good to be true.” 

“No,” Sarah shook her head. “No guy who cheats is good for anything. He’s an asshole. I swear, the next time I visit you I’m beating his ass.” 

“Sarah, do you have any extra toasty cheez-it’s?” Called a voice from behind Sarah. 

“Oooh, who’s that? Is she from the date the other night?” Davey asked, glad to finally be taking his mind off Jack. 

“Unimportant. We’re talking about you.” Sarah said to Davey before adding, “They’re on my desk,” to the person behind her. 

“No, tell me. Distract me. I’ve done enough thinking about Jack for today. Or ever.”

“Fine. Katherine, do you wanna talk to my brother?” 

Katherine.  
So much for a distraction.

“Sure! It’s David, right?” The camera shook slightly as someone sat on the bed with Sarah. 

“David, this is my girlfriend, Katherine.” 

It was her. 

It was Jack’s Katherine. Davey’s head was spinning. 

“I’m sorry, you’re Katherine Plumber?” Davey asked. 

“Yeah? Why do you ask? Wait! Are you Jack’s Davey. He’s told me so much about you. He’s really worried about you, you know. He’s been bombarding me with his concern.” Katherine said. 

“Oh my God. I need to talk to Jack. I thought he was cheating on me with you.” 

“So he’s not cheating?” Sarah asked. “Kath? You’re the high school girlfriend?” 

“Yeah, we dated but it’s totally over now. You thought he was cheating? He’s totally smitten. Go get your man! He’s sulking in his room.” Katherine shouted. 

“Bye, Sarah. Love you. Nice meeting you, Katherine!” Davey hurriedly ended the conversation. 

-

Normally, Davey’s philosophy was that nobody should run unless they were being chased. But the Davey sprinting across the quad to go find his boyfriend who he’d completely misjudged would disagree. 

It wasn’t until Davey knocked on Jack’s door, out of breath, that he realized he hadn’t planned out anything to say. 

It wasn’t until he saw Jack’s face that he realized he had nothing to say at all. 

Davey swiftly stepped forward and took Jack’s face in his hands, smashing their lips together. It lacked the grace that they usually possessed but what it lacked in beauty it made up in passion. 

Jack look shocked as he pulled away, though his face quickly turned to a smile as he pulled Davey into a hug. 

“What happened?” Jack asked. 

“I’m sorry. This sounds crazy now that I see you and i say it out loud. I thought, I thought that you might be cheating on me with Katherine. I know you wouldn’t do anything like that but you were so secretive and Spot told me that you had dated and then I heard Crutchie offhandedly refer to you as a couple and you know how I overthink and I th-” Davey was cut off by Jack reconnecting their lips. 

“I also know how you ramble. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you more about Kath, I just thought that you’d be weirded out by how close we are, having dated and all. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pissed that you think I’d cheat on you, I’m crazy for you, but I see where you’re coming from.” 

“I’m sorry,” Davey said, looking at the floor. 

“I’m sorry, too.” Jack placed a finger under Davey’s chin, moving his head up so they could make eye contact. “Just don’t disappear on me, okay?”

“Okay.” 

“Besides,” Jack said, finally leading Davey into his room, “Kath has got some mystery girlfriend at school. She wants nothing to do with me.” 

Jack didn’t understand why that made Davey laugh so hard.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoops I didn’t edit that


End file.
